Matthews scores twice, leads Maple Leafs past Red Wings 5-4
DETROIT — The theory around the NHL is that rookies are supposed to wear down from the grind of the 82-season. Apparently, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ young stars don’t subscribe to that.
Rookies scored four of Toronto’s goals in a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings and the Maple Leafs edged closer to their first playoff appearance since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.
Auston Matthews, who leads all NHL rookies with 38 goals and 66 points, scored twice, including the eventual game winner at 18:51 of the third period. Mitch Marner and William Nylander also scored, as did veteran James van Riemsdyk, as Toronto improved to 10-2-1 in its last 13 games and moved into a second-place tie in the Atlantic Division with the Ottawa Senators.
“Those three have been difference makers for their whole lives, so they don’t know anything else,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said of Matthews, Nylander and Marner, who are Toronto’s top three scorers. “We trust them to do that for us, and we give them a lot of ice time to do it.”